SANDAKAN – Passengers stranded here and are unable to fly to the peninsula for work due to the ash cloud from Mount Ruang’s eruptions are hoping their bosses will be understanding of their situation and grant them emergency leave.
Suriadi Mohd Mading, 38, who works as a welder in Shah Alam, is fearful his employer will mark his absence as part of his annual leave.
He was to depart Sandakan today, when news came that all AirAsia flights from today until 10am tomorrow have been cancelled due to the ash cloud from Mount Ruang’s eruptions on Tuesday and Wednesday in north Sulawesi, Indonesia.
“I have taken AirAsia’s offer to reschedule my flight, so my flight to Kuala Lumpur is on April 24, almost a week from now.
“This means that I will be absent from work for another six days. I have sent my boss an email from AirAsia that notified me that my flight has been cancelled. Now I am just hoping that they would not cut my remaining annual leave because of this,” he told Scoop when met at the Sandakan Airport, today.
Suriadi was in Sandakan for Hari Raya holidays with his wife’s family in Bukit Garam, Kinabatangan, about two hours away from the airport.
He was travelling with his wife and two young children.
Meanwhile, a mother of two young children, Hasleza Miran, 37, from Bandar Bukit Raja, Klang, also said that she hoped her husband’s employer would be understanding of the situation.
“We met another passenger just now who shared that their employer refused to accept the cancelled flight as an excuse to extend their leave. There are unreasonable companies out there, and I hope that my husband’s employer is not one of them,” she said.
Hasleza, who was also in Sandakan for Hari Raya festivities with her family, has informed her seven-year-old daughter’s teacher that her child will not attend school for another week.
“Of course, I am disappointed, but what are we going to do? This is not anyone’s fault,” she added.
Multiple flights between nine airports, including Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Labuan, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu, Kuching, and Brunei were affected from 10am today until tomorrow following Mount Ruang’s eruptions, which shot volcanic ash high into the sky, affecting visibility throughout the region.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Sandakan Airport earlier today, amid reports that another 2,000 people were stuck at the Tawau Airport, another Sabah east coast district.
AirAsia, however, has since reinstated certain flights this evening, involving the Bintulu, Kuching, Sibu, Johor Bahru and Kota Bharu routes, as well as between Kota Kinabalu and Miri, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Tawau, Hong Kong, Taipei and Shenzhen.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) said that airlines and aircraft operators need to monitor meteorological updates, advisories and information related to volcanic ash issued by the authorities.
Sandakan airport manager Mohamad Nazri said that the situation at the airport here is under control.
“We have sufficient personnel to handle the situation too. People who have rescheduled their tickets have also gone back. The airport is open 24 hours so there should be no problem of overcrowding,” he told Scoop. – April 18, 2024